Business in brief

Citizen Staff Reports

07/05/12

Universal Ford Sales, Inc., of Glen Allen, is one of 14 Virginia companies listed in “Black Enterprise” magazine’s 40th annual BE100s report. The comprehensive analysis includes a total of 230 companies broken down into seven categories; Universal Ford Sales is ranked No. 57 in the auto dealers category. The dealership had almost $23 million in revenue in 2011. “Black Enterprise,” a business, investing and wealth-building resource for African Americans, develops rankings by collecting surveys from companies and gathering information from various agencies and associations. The business must be at least 51% black-owned to be eligible.

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Simon Property Group, Inc. is inviting the public to explore leasing and advertising opportunities at the Business Opportunity Day on Thursday, July 19 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Virginia Center Commons Mall, 10101 Brook Rd. Small business counselors will be on hand to provide tools and financing advice, as well as two guest speakers – Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach Jan Leaton at 9:30 a.m. and Larry Lee, from the Richmond office of SCORE, at 11 a.m. Admission is free. For details, call Mall Manager Angela Crowder or Melody Braithwaite, leasing, at 266-9002.

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HHHunt Corp., the parent company of HHHunt Homes, made a significant jump on Builder Magazine’s recently released “2011 Builder 100,” showing the most improvement among all other homebuilders. Now ranked 71 in the nation, HHHunt Corp. climbed 71 spots from its rank of 142 in 2010. HHHunt’s national ranking is inclusive of 88 residences from Handcrafted Homes. Assessed independently, HHHunt Homes grew from 142 closings in 2010 to 281 closings in 2011, indicating a 98 percent growth increase – the fastest-growing builder on the magazine’s “Builder 100” list.

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Great Relationships, Inc., a global not-for-profit organization dedicated to strengthening marital relationships, has named Angelia (Angie) Z. Fritter, of Richmond, to the organization’s board of directors. Fritter, a financial adviser with Eagle Strategies, LLC, a registered investment adviser, will serve as treasurer.

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Chuck Bartlett, senior vice president of health strategies at the American Heart Association's Mid-Atlantic Affiliate (MAA), recently received the association's 2012 Earl B. Beagle Award for Staff Excellence. The award is the association's most prestigious staff leadership honor and recognizes leadership, professionalism, dedication and excellence in performance. Bartlett's innovative and forward-thinking leadership style has driven the MAA to continuous achievements and awards in areas including government relations, quality improvement, development, health strategies, health equity and volunteerism. He has been with the AHA for 29 years.

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Martin’s Food Markets recently participated in the Salvation Army’s Donuts of Hope: A Dough-Raising Event program. During the in-store campaign, Martin’s donated 25 cents of every donut sold at its stores in the Richmond region from May 27 to June 2, resulting in a contribution of $4,225. In addition, Martin’s matched the contribution for a total donation to the Salvation Army of $8,450. For more information, please visit http://www.donutsofhope.org.

The next Henrico Business Council Networking Breakfast will be held Wednesday, July 11 from 7:15 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the Forest Campus Cafeteria at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, 1602 Skipwith Rd. Henrico County Manager Virgil Hazelett will give the State of Henrico County Address. The council is again partnering with the Henrico Education Foundation for the Henrico School Supply Challenge and will be accepting school supplies for students in need at the July and August meetings. To register, call 783-9368.

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The Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce will host a healthcare reform panel discussion on Thursday, July 19 from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Anthem Headquarters, 2015 Staples Mill Rd. Panelists will explore the status of healthcare reform, the impact of the Supreme Court decision and why employers should care. Admission is free for Chamber members and $15 to $25 for nonmembers. For details, call Stephanie Phillips at 783-9350 or visit http://www.grcc.com.

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Nominations for the Henrico Business Council’s Henrico Business of the Year award are currently being accepted. First established in 2010, the Henrico Business of the Year award honors local businesses that positively influence the Greater Richmond's economy, contribute to the Henrico County community, improve the lives of their employees and/or demonstrate innovation within their specific industry. For-profit and not-for-profit organizations are eligible. For more information or to obtain a nomination form, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Effective July 1, the following Greater Richmond Chamber members joined the Henrico Business Council Cabinet: Tom Falat, of Policy Partnership, LLC; Katy Holder, of Free Agents Marketing, Inc.; Morenike Miles, of Dominion; and Dana Welcher, of CarMax, Inc. The HBC Cabinet focuses on issues of interest to the business community within Henrico County and shares an interest in applying a regional perspective to local issues.

St. Joseph's Villa’s Flagler Housing & Homeless Services was one of three entities to earn the National Alliance to End Homelessness' Champion of Change Award. The awards were presented Nov. 17 during a ceremony at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

Flagler completed its transition from an on-campus shelter to the community-based model of rapid rehousing in 2013, and it was one of the nation's first rapid re-housing service providers to be certified by NAEH. > Read more.

Richmond International Raceway's 13th annual Community Christmas tree lighting has been rescheduled from Dec. 6 to Monday, Dec. 12, at 6:30 p.m., due to inclement weather expected on the original date.

Entertainment Dec. 12 will be provided by the Laburnum Elementary School choir and the Henrico High School Mighty Marching Warriors band. Tree decorations crafted by students from Laburnum Elementary School and L. Douglas Wilder Middle School will be on display. Hot chocolate and cookies will be supplied by the Henrico High School football boosters. > Read more.

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The Hanover Concert Band will perform from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. at Virginia Center Commons Mall. The Central Virginia Wind Symphony will then perform from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Both concerts will take place in the Food Court.
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